At some point you have to stop borrowing your parent’s tools.  Sure, the harvest gold 1970s electric trimmer is great, but the time-share arrangement with siblings makes yard work hard to plan.  So we bit the bullet and bought a hand operated hedge trimmer.

I was not initially enthusiastic about the idea; just the thought made my biceps ache.  But I was surprised how easy this trimmer is to use.  The blades are non-stick, so you do not have to expend any energy trying to pry them open.  Even evergreen sap comes right off.  The handles are wood, but have nice cushioned grips to keeps your hands from getting tired.  Sure, it is going to take a bit longer to trim the bushes than it would with an electric model, but you are able to be more precise.  If you have rounded bushes, the hand operated trimmers will keep them a lot tidier.  You will never get too deep or go too far.  One of the greatest, and most unexpected, things about this trimmer is that clean up is easier.  Cut off some twigs and they fall right down - they do not get pushed and blown around like with an electric trimmer.  Since the clean up is the most tedious part of trimming hedges, this was a huge plus for me.